Expensive gear = more chances in getting pro results/great photos for semi-pro or amateur photographers?
Personally I think owning pro gear is okay, as long as the photographer financially able to afford it. (Using credit card to pay 1st and worry later does not apply). It's understandable that pro photographer need special pro gear to meet special demands depending on his/her expertise.
Now do all full time photographers used pro gear? Well not really, I have two full time wedding photographer friends, whom till this day still use their Canon 40D bodies to shoot AD or engagement. Their do constantly been heckle by fellow colleagues why they don't upgrade to full frame or pro D bodies. The answer they give is quite simple, Canon 40D is a very capable camera and it satisfied their job usage in weddings which are almost 95% of their income source. Their clients are very happy with the photos taken by my friends (note:not the camera). If a commercial gig do come along, they will just rent the pro gear they need based on the nature of the paid gig. And btw, they also mention 40D is a very good excuse that they can't do short candid videos if a client's family member (very rarely though) requested it. LOL
Now for a strobist shooter, do you need pro flash gear like the Broncolor, Profoto or Elinchrom. Yes of course you can used anything you like as long as you can afford it, and justify that you will use it to the fullest and not let it be a white elephant sitting at one corner smiling at you.
Strobist term: A person who habitually uses Small, Hot-shoe Mountable Electronic Flashguns (or speedilights), off-camera to enhance the lighting quality of his or her photos. The off-camera flashgun is triggered by the camera using a sync cable or a wireless switch. (From Urban Dictionary). Theoretically speaking, pro level strobes doesn't quite blend with strobist in-term of meaning.
Do I buy original Canon/Nikon flashes for strobist? Yes and No? If you are a semi-pro or advance strobist and you shoot weddings AD or events occasionally, Yes, by all means go for it. If you are an amateur or newbie strobist who shoot simple portrait than the answer is NO, Original camera flash are awesome but expensive, because they are able to talk with your camera.
A used Canon 580EX said S$350 (just guessing), can let you buy a pair YN560 MKII, a simple trigger+2 receivers, 2 simple light stands and 2 light modifiers (generic brands). Now how about TTL/High speed sync, Yes and No also. Yes, if lots of your work involve athletes, sport persons, dancers where occasionally you need to freeze the subject. No if you just do this kind of shoot once or twice a year. High speed sync is cool but come at the expense of low power flash output. So if you have a group of 2 or more dancers jumping into the air at different distance, and you want all of them in focus than you have a problem.
What I am trying to say is there is
no One For All super flash, super light modifiers or super camera. Each piece of gear have it's own pros and cons in-term of pricing, size, capability and etc. If a photographer bought a piece of gear, he/she must try his best to understand it's limits and work with it. Use at least more than ½ a year and shoot as many projects with it. If after all these, the photographer still found that this is not what he wanted. Obviously the photographer never do his homework thoroughly before investing in a piece of new/used gear. Remember, option of renting is always available.
For the past 2 yrs, I started to show my works to my family and friends, clients and models. I will never tell them what gear I use, frankly speaking they don't give a damn. And till now I have not met anyone who by looking at a printed photo or screen photo, able to tell that this is achieved by using pro gear a not. Ultimately just use what you own and make the best use out of it. This is how a photographer progress and grow, by solving or work around a problem.
Check out this cool blog post by Photographer David E Jackson, a very talented photographer and a friend of Zack Arias. Check out the awesome
family photos he did for Zack Arias. It's kick ass.
How should I get started and improve my strobist skill and works?
I have not much useful experience to share but I think I will share with you guys how I started my journey in portrait photography. For people who have follow my thread since 2009 will see a pattern.
Step 01 - Practice photography skill with family members, love ones, friends and colleague. Keep shooting/practicing to gain confidence in communication and art directing. Don't expect you get to work with agency models when you bought your first trigger and strobist rig.
Step 02 - Assist friends who are experience shooter. I will tag along to assist not bringing any camera. Just me in person to assist (be a VAL, carry bags, taking light meter reading and etc) and see how he shoot/communicate/handle problems.
Step 03 - Buddy Photo shoots - I planned shoots and invite an experience photographer to be the main photographer and me as the second shooter.
Important, you MUST let the model know about this and he/she is cool about it. Good thing is you learn from the photographer and if I screw up that shoot and only have a few okay photos. At least the models will have some good ones for portfolio from my friend.
Step 04 - When I am confident to shoot SOLO. I started indoor (shoot at home, moved heavy furnitures if you must) When in a control environment, I no need to worry about weather, nosy bystanders, mosquito and etc. And if a model play me out, At least the damage is minimum. Normally I will ask models who I have work with before in one of the buddy photo shoots. Since the models knew me and if she trust me, most likely she is cool to do a shoot at a HDB home. For new models I never work before, I will make sure I have a female assistant from start till end of the shoot. This is to safe guard both parties and the female model will feel more comfortable.
If your home not convenient as you have noisy kids, parents who kept asking you whether the model is your girlfriend? Than you may have to consider renting a studio, however... if a model play you out, that is nothing much you can do.
Oh btw, sometime model will request that she will bring a companion. Whether you are cool with it, its your call. It never happen to me before, it can be a good or bad thing.
Step 05 - Once I sort of have something interesting to show case what I have done. I start to invite other people that will further enhance my work. Make up artist are the first priority on the list. Now, when another creative people join me. It's no longer 100% my shoot, it's a collaboration between a group of people. And since it's for portfolio and not a paid gig. It's fair that the output of the shoot will benefit both parties and showcase their individual skills. This is a give and take situation.
Step 06 - Now, once I think I have muster enough confidence, it's time for me to take a big step. Outdoor shoot. Indoor photo shoot already hard to plan. Outdoor shoot is a logistic nightmare. I have to take care of location recce, transport, wardrobe, camera equipments, shoot schedule, getting everyone together on a date where all are free and many more. It's tons of hard work but if a photographer does pull it off. He/she will learnt a lot from it. The experience you gain is 2x more than doing indoor shoot.
That's about it, took me 5 years to get here. If I am running IPPT 2.4KM, I think I only cover 100m or so. I'm getting very lazy... Got to push myself to shoot more. Before I sign off and go to sleep. Check out the videos below, hope if will inspire you to shoot more.
eople Element. As you know, the location is the famous Toa Payoh Dragon, one of the few Sand Floor playground left in Singapore. I will share more on this below if you're interested. This place is very popular with photographers and surprisingly parents who do not stay nearby brought their kids there to play. There were a lot of people everywhere as the shoot happened. Since this is a public playground, I have to improvise on the move. A few days back, I went recce The Dragon (something I always do before a shoot), it was quiet and serene as the nearby blocks have been vacated for redevelopment. It was the perfect location for Polaroid Gals 3. I know I will expect some people turning up during a weekend but I never expected so many people visiting The Dragon. It was a very good thing - people treasure old things that have values and have been part of Singapore History. 
